Weekend Roundtable: 2018 New Year’s Resolutions

2017 was not a great year for a lot of reasons. I think many of us feel like we could use a fresh start in 2018. To that end, what are your personal resolutions for the new year?

M. Enois Duarte

I have the nasty habit of upgrading my home theater system with the latest tech promising improved picture and audio, and I admit to being pretty bad this past year because of 4k Ultra HD. My resolution is not to stop from collecting UHD discs because, after all, that’s just insanity. Instead, my resolution is to fight the temptation of upgrading to separate streaming devices, which I’ve been pretty good at avoiding so far. However, with rumors of Apple possibly looking into buying Netflix and Disney exploring options of starting its own streaming service after the acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the temptation is going to be tougher to resist this year. All fingers are pointing to 2018 being the year of streaming 4k content, so my fingers are crossed to stay true to my New Year’s resolution.

Luke Hickman

Every year, I resolve to get more exercise, which I start off well but ultimately burn myself out. This year, instead of repeating failed attempts of years past, I’ve decided that instead of attempting to control my weight with exercise, I’ll give it shot with better planned meals. I’ve watched my brother thin out simply by cutting back on carbs, so I’m lessening my carb intake and eating only planned meals and snacks between a certain “eating window.” Known as a form of “intermittent fasting,” I will only be eating around 1,600 calories between noon and 6 PM each day. Combined with my running routine, which has been in place for four years straight, I’m hoping to get healthier.

In terms of entertainment, I also resolve to watch more television, which sounds funny to say aloud. I’m so wrapped up in movies that it takes me a long time to get around to TV. I’ve wanted to watch it since it debuted, but I just barely got around to watching ‘11.22.63’ on Hulu. There are plenty of other acclaimed series on my watch list that I’d like to get through. Aside from the brief seasons of ‘Fargo’, ‘Better Call Saul’, ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’, ‘Legion’ and ‘Game of Thrones’, the only TV I get around to is long after its air date. Over the last three months, my oldest daughter and I have made it through the first season of ‘Quantum Leap’. I’d like to speed up and get her through the series quicker so we can move onto something more recent.

Getting healthy and watching more TV. Those are two New Year’s resolutions that you’re not likely to see paired together often.

Brian Hoss

At the end of the 2016, I found myself resolving to stem the backlog of media (games, movies, etc.) and tech (gadgets, gear, etc.) that I seem to accrue without sufficient time and focus to consume and utilize. In 2017, I did pretty well with this foible until the end of the year when the holiday rush of releases hit me like a barrage. (Free and great deal items have an allure for me as well.) I guess that holiday surge is to be expected, and it’s followed by the relatively slow January and February time. Even so, whether it’s the March release of the Nintendo Switch or the early summer decision to get back into vinyl with a new turntable, the backlog creeped up all year (and pushed the 2016 backlog out of consideration). For 2017, I need to keep media and tech accumulation to a will-use fairly quickly/regularly standard (or at least 80% or better).

I’m cursed with a collector’s mentality, so what would be common sense for most people requires a New Year’s resolution for me. This year, I’m going to make an effort to stop buying things out of a sense of obligation. Just because something comes out on Ultra HD Blu-ray doesn’t mean I have to rush out and upgrade. I don’t have to continue grabbing TV-on-BD season sets just to keep a collection complete when these same shows are already on Netflix. I’ve slowly started to realize that I don’t have to buy movies I’m not all that interested in just so I can feel like I’m part of the conversation. I’m sure I’ll continue to spend good money on ridiculous movies I’ll only ever watch once (as if I could ever resist the siren song of ‘Tobor the Great’!), but I at least want to limit myself to titles that genuinely excite me.

Josh Zyber

I didn’t do so great with last year’s resolution to work through the huge pile of unwatched movies in my collection. I’ll need to try that again.

I also really need to get better organized at home. My basement and attic are both a cluttered mess of old junk that I simply don’t need any more. I have boxes of old DVDs and Blu-rays that I pulled out of my official collection when I upgraded to better editions. I also have lots of old gadgets and tech that I no longer get any use out of. Some of this could be sold to recoup a few much-needed bucks, while other stuff just needs to be recycled. It just seems like such a daunting task that I hardly know where to begin. It’s long past time that I figured that out.

About Josh Zyber

Josh Zyber is a veteran movie and video disc reviewer from Laserdisc to DVD and beyond. He's previously written for DVDFile.com, DVDTalk.com and Home Theater magazine. These days, he wastes most of his free time managing this blog and writing the occasional Blu-ray review for High-Def Digest.

6 comments

Chris B

Well, I should probably drink less beer and eat less barbecue….so there’s that.

Additionally though, I’m looking to cut my movie buying down to the bare essentials. I signed up for the streaming service Shudder recently which now makes up a bug chunk of my watching and have also started renting more movies as opposed to buying them. Gone are the days when I’d drop 20-40 dollars on a film I’ve never seen only to watch it once and have it sit on my shelf. I’d rather use that money to rent several movies in HD and then decide what ones (usually none) I absolutely must own. It’s cheaper and I end up seeing way more films overall…

Happy 2018 ya’ll…

Csm101

I’ve started “window shopping” for a region free player, but haven’t made up my mind on a particular model yet. I’m considering dropping cable which we pay a hefty amount for but don’t feel we really use it enough for the price. We are looking into just Netflix, Amazon video and maybe Hulu. Between those three we would have more than enough content and shows to watch at a considerable amount less dollar value. I’m a little concerned about relying on internet connection or WiFi for all my viewing content.

I would get an Oppo – the type depends on your price range, but it you have any intention of going 4K soon (assuming you’re not already there), go with their UDP-203 model (or if money is no object, the newer UDP-205). 220-Electronics.com sells the region-free modified ones.

Charles Contreras

I’ve bought 2 region free Pioneer blu ray players from them some time ago, they’re a good company to do business with. Plus, I liked that they threw in a free HDMI cable with their player at that time. You can’t go wrong with them.

Charles Contreras

I think this year I’m going to finally organize my DVD and blu ray collection before it gets too out of hand. Plus I’m curious to see just how many titles I now have. Before I lost everything a few years ago, I had close to 1700 titles. I know I’ll never have quite that many again, these days I am being very selective about what I purchase. My other goal will hopefully get in good physical shape so that I can obtain my cdl and hit the road again. I’ve been to 34 states, and I have to say it was quite an adventure that I’d like to do again, then maybe retire and be a man of leasure! Have a safe and happy New Year, everyone!

My

William Henley

I stepped on the scale at the doctors office Friday and got a reality check. This was the doctor who has been telling me to loose weight, and I had gained quite a bit. I pulled a shirt out of the laundry room this morning that fit fine a year ago, and in fact, it fit just fine before the holidays, yet now it hardly covers my belly. I also did a quick check on how much I spend eating out a week, and all these things pretty much added up to me needing to get a handle on my weight and my diet. We are supposed to fast something for 21 days with my church, so I am considering going all vegan for 21 days and see what happens.

I also got to get a hold on my spending. It was finally slowing down – I said “I pretty much have most movies I ever wanted now on Blu-Ray!” Then 4k came out. 🙁 Now not only do I have a backlog of unopened discs, but several have been replaced by 4k versions. On the plus side, my sister and I have the same taste in movies, so… Christmas presents! (or late Christmas presents in this case – my mom told me she wanted the Twilight Saga, I had it unopened on my shelf, and my sister was like “No, I have Twilight, its Harry Potter and The Hunger Games I wanted! I watched Twilight with mom, she should know I have that!”

Not just in the movie watching, but in the game buying. I think I bought probably 2 dozen games (or more) in the past year – mainly through Humble Bundle, but also quite a few games for the Shield and the PS4. What did I get through last year? I have finished Final Fantasy 15 and almost all the side quests, finished Final Fantasy 4, am about a third of the way through Final Fantasy 7 (I never finished it, something in the past always happened to my saved games, same with Final Fantasy 8 and 9), about a fourth of the way through the first episode of 3 of Kingdom Hearts 2.8, have about 5 hours in on Evoland, about a third of the way through South Park Stick of Truth, and am on the second temple in Breath of the Wild. Sounds like a lot, but remember, I bought over 2 dozen games this past year. I pretty much fired up The Last Of Us to see how pretty it was, and same with the new Wolfenstein game, but the Batman games, the Lego games, and all other RPGs are unopened.

Also have the goal to pay down some debt.

Also have the goal to start dating again (hopefully). Its been 10 years since my fiancee passed away (in some ways, it seems like it was just a few weeks ago, in otherways, it feels like a lifetime ago), and I am getting tired of friends who stop including me in stuff because they have spouses and kids and think I could not possibly be interested in anything they are doing.

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